Corporal Thomas Timmins
Thomas Timmins (or Timmon) was born on 1 May 1887 at Cullen and Brownhill, Carrigallen, County Leitrim, the last of seven children of farmer Thomas Timmins and his wife Anne (née Cluard). By the time of the 1911 Census he was living at Cullen and Brownhill with his parents and a brother and working on the family farm. On 2 October 1913 he married Mabel Henderson at the Killeshandra Church of Ireland Parish Church, County Cavan. The couple had three children over the next four years.
Timmins enlisted in the North Irish Horse at some point following the declaration of war in August 1914 (regimental number unknown).
At the end of December 1916 he was one of forty North Irish Horsemen who volunteered to transfer to the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. The formal transfer took place on 9 January 1917, and on the same day they embarked for France, where they were posted to the 10th Battalion, joining it at Ploegsteert Wood on the Ypres front on 16 January. Timmins was issued regimental number 40674.
Within weeks, however, Timmins was wounded in the left thigh. Evacuated to the UK for treatment, he saw no further front-line service. On 9 February 1918 he was transferred to the Army Service Corps, Motor Transport section (No. M/40507). He remained with that regiment until the end of the war.
On 25 May 1919 Timmins was discharged and awarded a pension due to his wound. He later emigrated to Canada – his address in January 1923 was Ryan's Hotel, Windsor Street, Montreal.
At least one of Timmins' brothers, Henry, also served in the war, in the Royal Field Artillery. He was killed in action on 26 September 1915.
The image above, from the Larne Times and Weekly Telegraph of 5 December 1914, identifies this man as 'Lance Corporal Timmins'. He is probably the man described on this page, though it cannot be said for certain. The image can be seen in its full context here.